10-Q Watch: Monster's String of Acquisitions and Its Tickle Closure Details
This story was written by Rafat Ali.
Monster filed its 10-Q last week, and some granular details on its recent acquisitions of Trovix (for $64m, net of cash acquired), Affinity Labs ($61.5m), and the remaining part of ChinaHR ($174m and conversion of $25m credit facility). Also, interestingly, it says its online ad revenues (on Military.com and Affinity Labs sites) were essentially flat for the first nine months of this year because of its decision in 2007 to remove interstitial ads and student loan ads, and lower demand from financial services customers.
Then on its decision earlier this year to close down social networking site Tickle.com, which it bought in 2004 for $70 million: it was based upon Tickle's non-core offerings, "which no longer fit the Company's long-term strategic growth plans, and Tickle's lack of profitability". Tickle's discontinued operations for the first nine months of 2008 included the write-down of $13.2 million of long-lived assets, an income tax benefit of $29.5 million and a net loss of $5.45 million from its operations.
By Rafat Ali